COUNTY KERRY, IRELAND
“It’s a soft day,” the Irish will say to describe
a mizzling afternoon with a bit of rain. Soft
days come often to Killarney, in Ireland’s
southwest corner, courtesy of the Atlantic
and the Gulf Stream, but the result is a
verdant landscape of bubbling brooks, water-
falls, and lakes framed by dulcet woods of
oak and yew, lush banks of ferns, and fuchsia-
tinged hedgerows. Above it all soar the steep
slopes of the country’s highest mountains,
the magnificently named MacGillycuddy’s
Reeks (3,406 ft/1,038 m).
DON’T MISS
Any Irish visit must take in the craic (the fun), so
spend an evening exploring Killarney and its old-
time pubs. Then allow two days for the Ring of Kerry,
a 111-mile (179 km) drive around the region’s finest
lakes, mountains, and monuments.
Historic monuments, such as Ross Castle outside
Killarney, are a feature of County Kerry’s landscapes.
30 PEAKS & VALLEYS
killarney